Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice for May 15

Welcome to our daily look at daily fantasy baseball. We’ll use DraftKings salaries to give you some tips and advice on the day’s action. We’ll play the seven-game main slate, skipping Rays-Indians at 6:10 p.m. ET.

Remember to check lineups and weather as gametimes approach. We’ll publish this piece in the mornings, and a lot can happen during the day. If Dusty Baker decides to bench Bryce Harper at the last minute, don’t blame us!

I’ll plan to wager $6 per day on DraftKings - $5 on a cash lineup, $1 on a tournament version (usually single-entry) – and track my progress all season. If you’re a more serious player who doesn’t want to trust his or her bankroll on a guy who enters six bucks a day, I’ll understand.

Friday's recap

Rick Porcello (16.1 DK points) was a mediocre lock, Yonder Alonso did next to nothing as one of the bargains, and a Brewers’ stack (save for Hernan Perez) didn’t help much. Ezequiel Carrera (13 points) was pretty good, though.

Both lineups were downright terrible. I stink right now.

Season status: Plus $3.50

Steve MitchellSteve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

News & notes

Jesse Chavez ($7,800) is the night’s biggest favorite at minus-162 over the White Sox … The highest projected run total is 9.5 for Mets-Diamondbacks (Wheeler-Godley), while the lowest is eight for both Brewers-Padres (Anderson-Perdomo) and A’s-Mariners (Manaea-Gallardo) … The weather looks good all around.

Diamondbacks OF A.J. Pollock (groin) might be headed for the DL, while teammate David Peralta’s status is TBD after he left Sunday’s game with a glute injury … The Mariners hope that 2B Robinson Cano (quad) will return to the lineup tonight … Mets SS Asdrubal Cabrera (thumb) could be DL-bound; ditto for Giants OF Hunter Pence (hamstring) … Brewers 3B Travis Shaw is day-to-day.

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The Lock

Nelson Cruz ($4,500) against a lefty is always a strong option. He has a .419 wOBA vs. them this season, and is .395 for his career. If you’re into tiny sample BvP, Cruz has three hits (including a homer) and three walks in six plate appearances vs. Sean Manaea. Since you won’t spend on pitching, you have no excuse to pass on Cruz, unless it’s #cantpredictball.

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The Bargains

Cash: Danny Valencia ($3,300) and T.J. Rivera ($3,200) are both 1B/3B options, and pretty good ones at that.

Tournaments: San Diego’s Luis Perdomo ($6,600) is a ground-ball machine who has allowed more than three runs only once in five starts so far, while giving up just one home run with 25 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings. With Ryan Braun on the DL, you can consider Perdomo against the Brewers.

The Stacks

Too bad the D-backs will be missing Pollock and (probably) Peralta. The Astros, Marlins, Angels and Blue Jays look like reasonable options. I’m going to roll with a few Jays against Bartolo Colon, who now throws approximately 46 mph.

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The Guys to Avoid

None of the pitchers are all that great, so picking hitters for this slot is tricky. I’ll stay away from hitters in the Dodgers-Giants game due to the extreme pitcher’s park.

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Position notes

Starting pitcher: This pitching slate is atrocious. There’s not a guy on it who can be considered a safe cash game play … Brandon McCarthy ($9,100) is in play because the Giants have been MLB’s worst-hitting team vs. RHP (.277 wOBA) … The White Sox are the next worst at .281, making Chavez a decent option … Perdomo is mentioned above … The Hail Mary is Matt Cain ($6,100), who has always been much better at home. If you throw out Cain’s nine-run debacle against the Reds on May 5, he has a 2.50 ERA.

Catcher: If you don’t use McCarthy, go with Buster Posey ($4,100), who has four homers in his last six games … And if you don’t use Cain, Yasmani Grandal ($3,500) is absolutely playable. Grandal has 13 hits in his last six games … J.T. Realmuto ($3,400) has been hitting second for the Marlins lately … Brian McCann ($3,200) and Stephen Vogt ($3,100) are the guys to consider in the lower price tier. I’d say it’s because of matchups with shaky pitchers, but we could say that about everyone tonight.

Second base: You’ll save on pitching today, so you can spend on Jose Altuve ($5,000) if you want … With Cabrera out, look for Neil Walker ($4,200) to bat cleanup for the Mets … Jed Lowrie is up to $3,600, but Gallardo is really bad.

Third base: Jake Lamb ($4,600) is in play due to his home park and solid matchup with Wheeler … Alex Bregman ($3,800) hit a grand slam Sunday, and his bat seems to be waking up a bit … Valencia and Rivera are both mentioned at 1B, and I’d use one of them here rather than spending for Lamb. Rivera gets a slight edge due to his lineup slot.

Shortstop: Carlos Correa ($4,900) and Corey Seager ($4,600) are pretty much a tossup. Correa went 10-for-22 last week with 10 RBI and seven runs scored in six games … Jean Segura ($4,400) might be a better play vs. Manaea depending on how you use other Mariners … I wouldn’t dig deeper than Brandon Crawford ($3,400) vs. McCarthy.

Outfield: You’ll have the cash to spend on Mike Trout ($5,400) vs. Pelfrey … Michael Conforto ($4,600) should bat third for the Mets, and remains worthwhile even as his price goes up … Cruz is mentioned above … With Joe Musgrove having allowed eight homers in 37 2/3 IP, Christian Yelich ($4,200) looks pretty good … Do I suggest Kevin Pillar every day? For $3,500 vs. Bartolo Colon, how could I not? … Seattle’s Guillermo Heredia ($2,700) is the cheap play if he bats high in the order vs. Manaea.